


Save The Queen

by w0rdznthots



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:53:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24625048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/w0rdznthots/pseuds/w0rdznthots
Summary: The Best Friend Squad brave the Interdimensional void to save Angella
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra)
Comments: 21
Kudos: 195





	Save The Queen

**Author's Note:**

> Angella is alive in that void and I’ll be damned if the Best Friend Squad don’t go back in there to save her. I’m not sure how Interdimensional space travel works but I tried. Very self indulgent piece of work that explores character relationships and internal struggles. Also sprinkled some quite soft light hearted moments in there. (This is my first fic and I haven’t quite figured out how to post in chapters so here have the whole thing)

Chapter One: Night Changes

The scene in front of him was better than he could have ever imagined. Bow looked around the campfire at all his friends. Defeating the Horde and restoring the full magic of Etheria was tiresome work. No one had the energy to go back to their respective kingdoms. So, for now, they sat in the glade under the light of the stars enjoying each other’s company.

Seahawk, Scorpia and Swfitwind (or the three S-keteers as they had newly dubbed themselves) stood front and centre entertaining everyone with their impromptu shanties.

Mermista was trying really hard to look like she was _not_ enjoying herself but Bow could tell from the stolen glances she shared with Seahawk, she wouldn’t have had things any other way.

Perfuma had just about thrown an entire garden of roses at the performers feet and was now drumming along to the beat of their song. 

At the centre of the hearth, Frosta was attempting to roast an entire bag of marshmallows on a single branch. Entrapta was beside her making scientific observations and adjusting the position of the marshmallows every time they were in danger of losing one to the flames. 

Sitting next to Bow and Gimmer in the glow of the campfire, Adora was curled up against Catra, her head resting on Catra’s shoulder. She was trying really hard to stay awake but was weaving in and out of sleep, occasionally falling forward. Catra would always catch her, repositioning herself so Adora could rest more comfortably. It had been quite a big day for those two in particular. They hadn’t shared with Bow and Glimmer what happened at the heart of Etheria. Bow had his speculations, as did almost every other person that had seen these two interact in the last week, but he didn’t press them for details. They would share their story when they were ready. You could see the exhaustion in Catra’s eyes, but also the love. Most importantly, the peace. Bow could tell that she didn’t mind being used as a pillow. 

His eyes wandered back to Glimmer. She too was losing the battle to sleep, her eyelids getting heavy. 

“We should probably take these two to bed, before we fall asleep as well huh arrow boy?” Catra sighed, she had her head resting on the crown of Adora’s, cradling her gently in her arms. She didn’t look like she was in too much of a rush to move.

“I suppose you’re right.” He didn’t really want to move either, but sleeping outside in the cool damp air when they were this exhausted was a recipe for sickness.

He cradled Glimmer in his arms and she snuggled into his chest. Catra slung a dazed Adora over her shoulder and they made their way to their tent.

Gently, Bow and Catra set them down on their respective sleeping mats, Bow making sure to fluff Glimmer’s pillow and tuck her in all the way before kissing her forehead and wishing her goodnight.

“Sleep well, I love you.”

“I love you too, mom.” Glimmer whispered. 

That caught Bow off guard. Mom? Confused, he looked behind him just to make sure Queen Angella wasn’t miraculously standing behind him. Nope. Nobody was there but Melog, making his way to Adora’s side where he promptly curled into a ball and closed his eyes. He glanced back at Glimmer and scanned her sleeping face. It was peaceful. Realization sunk in. In her dreams, Glimmer was blissfully unaware that her mother was no longer here. In her dreams her family was whole and the world was perfect once more. Bow felt guilty. In the heat of the celebrations, he had forgotten the sacrifices that were made for this victory, particularly at the cost of the Brightmoon Kingdom. The guilt was followed by sadness and shame. He missed the Queen. Thinking about her brought back memories of his childhood, of the day that the Queen had taken both him and Glimmer flying around the castle. Of times when she would take Bow and Glimmer to Mystacor for the monthly rejuvenation ceremony, allowing them to stay up past their bedtime to watch the incantations being performed. She was like a mother to him. Don’t get him wrong he absolutely adored both of his dad’s but Queen Angella was the mother he never had. How could he have forgotten her so quickly? It made him even sadder to think of the grief that Glimmer must’ve been carrying around with her this whole time. 

Bow had been so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he didn’t notice Catra, who had just been right beside him, moving further away. Melog lifted his head toward her direction. Her eyes had taken on a distant gaze, her body language stiffer and more panicked than it had been moments ago.

“Catra? What’s wrong?’

Bow made to lay a comforting hand on her shoulder but she shied away, protectively hugging herself and backing into the corner.

“Don’t touch me.” She whispered defensivey. Catra’s gaze fell to the floor. Bow spread his arms out in open gesture. Something had triggered Catra’s panicked response. He wanted to help her through this.

“Catra I’m not sure what’s happening to you or what you’re going through but you can talk to me, about anything. I’m sure that whatever it is, we can figure it out.”

Catra shook her head, her eyes refusing to meet his, “No you don’t understand…what I did. Its unforgivable.”

“Try me.” He put on his best smile. He put all the love that he could muster into it to make sure Catra knew that this was a safe space, that they would be ok.

“It’s… it’s my fault. It’s my fault that Glimmer’s mom was lost to the portal. Entrapta warned me that it was unstable, Adora pleaded with me not to pull the lever but I did it. If I hadn’t pulled the lever, the portal wouldn’t have activated, Queen Angella would still be here.”

That’s why she had been scared. The mention of Queen Angella brought back her memories of the portal as well as his. Bow’s smile wavered. Catra noticed his reaction, causing her to slink even deeper into the corner of the tent, closer to the door. He hadn’t known that the portal was initiated by Catra. He always just assumed that it had gone off by itself.

“I was so angry and hurt. I wanted everyone else to feel the pain that was eating away inside of me. I told you, it was wrong and selfish and stupid. It’s unforgivable.” Catra confessed.

Bow noticed he was frowning. Honestly, he didn’t quite know how he felt in that moment. A wound he had been working on healing since he lost the Queen had been ripped open by Catra’s confession. He was angry… But he saw the fear in Catra’s face, the regret, the shame and the remorse. He remembered the stories Adora had shared with them over the years, the abuse that these two had grown up with by the hands of Shadow Weaver, and the abandonment Catra had endured throughout the years. While they didn’t excuse her actions, the added perspective eased Bow’s anger and replaced it with sympathy.

Mortified by what might have happened next, Catra made to turn and run out the tent but Bow extended his arm out,

“Catra wait!” Surprisingly she stopped and looked over her shoulder tentatively. He took a deep breath and tried for a reassuring smile.

“Catra, what you’ve done in the past was bad, but it can’t be changed. What’s most important is that you’re learning from your mistakes, you’re growing and your trying your hardest to be your best self. That’s what matters the most to me. That’s all that ever matters. You’re my friend, one of my best friends, and I forgive you.”

Catra seemed shocked. She clearly wasn’t expecting remorse, especially from someone so directly affected by what she did. Tears started forming at the corner of her eyes.

“I don’t deserve this.”

Bow chuckled before taking a step toward her to shorten the distance between them.

“Are you kidding me? Of course, you do. Everyone deserves a chance to be better. Everyone deserves to love and be loved.”

The soft glow of the candles caught the wide-eyed awe in Catra’s eyes. “Thanks.”

Catra smiled and came closer. Bow wasn’t sure whether or not he would get clawed in the face but he took a risk and pulled her into a hug. She froze up before relaxing but she didn’t fight him off. Real progress. Bow pulled away quicker than he would have with other people, he didn’t want to push his luck too much tonight. His gaze returned to Glimmer to make sure that she was still sleeping peacefully. She was. His heart fluttered at the sight of her.

They both slid into their mats between Adora and Glimmer, next to each other. The night was dying down. The raucous chorus of singing had been replaced with the night’s careless whispers.

“Do you think Glimmer will?” Catra asked as she lay on her back facing the ceiling.

“Hmm? What was that?”

“Forgive me?”

Bow turned to face Catra, Adora’s arm had found its way around her waist and had pulled Catra close, which, it seems, had calmed her down even more. Bow couldn’t help but smile. He propped himself up onto his elbow.

“If I’m being completely honest, I’m not too sure. I can’t speak on her behalf.”

Catra frowned a little.

“Yeah, I guess when you’re responsible for the death of a parent it –“ Bow had to cut her off. The word death made him uncomfortable and it didn’t seem right.

“I’m not entirely sure that Queen Angella is dead.” Bow confessed.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Well, when we were in the collapsing reality, Entrapta explained to us that the portal we had opened was unstable. The only way we could close it was for someone to close the portal from the inside. Whoever closed the portal would be forever stuck in the void between dimensions.” Bow had never voiced this out loud, losing the Queen had been hard on them all and he didn’t want to cause any more hurt for Adora and Glimmer with his speculations, but Catra listened intently, prompting Bow to continue.

“Queen Angella is an immortal being, I’m not sure if her immortality works the same in an interdimensional void but, if it does…”

“…she may still be in there, stuck.” Catra finished the sentence that he couldn’t.

The words hung in the air, carried by the stillness of the night. Bow dropped back onto his back, hands cupped behind his head. She may still be in there. She could still be saved. Bow gazed up toward the peaked ceiling of their tent and imagined the stars that illuminated the sky beyond it. The gears were starting to turn in his mind.

“I’m going to figure out a way to get her back.”

“I’m going to help you.” The conviction in Catra’s voice left no room for argument. Moments passed by before Catra offered more thoughts.

“Surely, between Prime’s clones, his ship hovering above the planet, and Entrapta’s research we can figure out a way to get her back safely.” The gears were turning inside her head too. Bow always forgets that Catra is a master tactician with an incredible mind. She made a great addition to the best friend squad. Bow bounced ideas off of her.

“I mean, now that the magic of Etheria is fully restored and Adora has more experience controlling the power of She-ra, we’ll have no problem opening a stable portal, the tricky part is dropping into the interdimensional void.”

“Yeah I can see what you mean. That part seems delicate. I haven’t got the expertise to make a sure statement but tomorrow morning, you and me? We’ll find Hordak and Entrapta and figure out a way to get her back. We’ll bring her home.”

Bow nodded in agreement. Determined.

“Hey.” Bow turned on his side once more to face Catra. She was lost in thought, tangled up in Adora’s embrace.

“Yeah?”

“I never said this, and if you tell Glimmer and Adora I will deny it wholeheartedly but… it’s nice. To have someone in the best friend squad to talk through this kind of stuff with.”

Catra turned toward him, smirking.

“What, were conversations with these two were not intellectually stimulating enough for you tech master bow? I’m shocked. Who would have guessed?”

Bow went red but laughed along. “Not exactly what I meant. These two are endearing but it’s nice to talk to someone with a little more common sense than Miss Barge-In-Guns-Blazing and Miss Punch-Your-Problems. Again, I will deny ever saying this to you.”

“Relax Bow, I’m kidding. They’re idiots but they’re our idiots. And we love them.”

They shared a soft laugh. And in the quiet of the night, just as Bow lay suspended between consciousness and dreams, he heard a soft whisper pierce his thoughts.

“Hey, I enjoyed it too.”

Chapter Two: Whispers at Dawn

“Catra?” Adora hadn’t moved but gave Catra’s waist a small squeeze indicating that she was waking slowly. At some point in the night Adora had tugged her onto her sleeping mat. The brisk morning air surrounded them but Catra was safe in the warmth of Adora’s embrace. What time it was, Catra couldn’t say for sure, it was still dark out. She hadn’t slept at all since her conversation with Bow, her thoughts and worries keeping her awake. Earlier, she began to drift into sleep before Bow’s snoring commenced and shot dead her chances of getting any sleep that night. A mat over, Bow’s rhythmic snores continued to advertise his deep slumber. Glimmer was peacefully nuzzled into his chest. Catra turned to face Adora, wrapping her arms around her.

“Hey sleepyhead.”

At her response, Adora relaxed deeper into her embrace, nuzzling her head into the crook of Catra’s neck. She laughed softly then sighed. After a while, Catra thought Adora had fallen back asleep. Through the tarp of the tent the sound of birds waking could be heard in the distance.

“Doesn’t this take you back to the Fright Zone?” Adora murmured sleepily. Catra softened, thinking back to the simpler times of their childhood. “Those, _sleepovers.”_

They both giggled, embarrassed. Knowing that they had both loved each other the whole time had put a new spin on their shared childhood experiences.

“Yeah, _sleepovers_ are the only thing that kept me sane in the Fright Zone.” Catra shared as she buried her face in Adora’s hair. Now that everything was out in the open it was easy being very vulnerable about their true feelings toward one another.

“I would have never told you at the time but in the quiet of the morning, before the day started I would imagine that the Hoard didn’t exist. That it was just the two of us. I would lie awake, watching you sleep. I loved those mornings.” Adora whispered into her neck. Catra blushed. There had been many mornings back in the Fright Zone where the roles were reversed and Catra would do the same. How had she been in such heavy denial about her feelings for Adora?

“Yeah, those mornings were the worst.” That caught Adora’s attention and she scoffed, offended.

“And why’s that?” Adora asked, lifting her head to face her. They were inches apart.

“Because back then I couldn’t do this.” Catra leaned in and kissed her gently at first. Then, moving her hands to cradle Adora’s face, deeper.” Pulling away, she rested her forehead on Adora’s.

“Good morning.”

“You’re right, this is so much better.” And Adora kissed her again, pulling her closer. Catra didn’t think that it was possible to be this close to someone and she lived for it. A light giggle broke their rhythm.

“So, you admit it then? You do like me.” Adora teased pulling away, she had her trademark smug look on her face, making Catra smile against her will.

“Adora. I love you.” At that Adora’s smug smile widened, making her face glow.

“But you also like me huh?”

“You’re ruining the moment.”

“Oh no, it’s ok, really. We’re fully stocked on those, we have more in the back.” Adora quipped

“Oh my god, you really are the biggest idiot on the planet.” They both chuckled. In the bedroll next to them Bow’s steady snoring hitched. It only made them laugh harder, hands pressed over each other’s mouths to supress the noise so as not to wake their sleeping friends. Their eyes were having a silent conversation.

_Shhh_

_No you shhh_

_I shushed you first_

_Make me_

_Oh, you really wanna go there huh?_

_You’ll wake them up and then it’ll be game over for the both of us!_

Glimmer turned in Bow’s arms promptly ending all shenanigans. No one wanted to be on the receiving end of morning Glimmer. When they were satisfied that Glimmer was in fact still asleep, they allowed themselves to relax back into bed.

“So what’s up? You haven’t slept at all. And don’t bother trying to convince me that something isn’t worrying you, I’ve known you for too long not to know when something’s on your mind.” Adora propped herself on her elbow, other hand placed softly but strategically on Catra’s opposite arm. She couldn’t turn and bury her face in the pillow. There was no avoiding it.

“Bow and I, we talked last night… about Queen Angella.”

Concern flashed across Adora’s face, she wasn’t sure where this conversation was heading. Catra held the hand holding her down.

“It was a good conversation, overall.” She reassured and she could see the concern on Adora’s face melt away.

“I carry around a lot of guilt for the bad actions that I’ve done in the past. Queen Angella’s sacrifice in particular was something that, after getting to know Glimmer, I’ve been feeling pretty bad about.” Adora pulled her up and hugged her tightly.

“I feel partially responsible for that too. During the rebellion, I had an argument with Glimmer and in the heat of the moment she said that, that maybe if I was a better She-ra, Queen Angella might still be around.” Catra had never thought about the situation from Adora’s perspective. Adora pulled away and began playing with the ends of her hair.

“We’ve since worked through it together and Glimmer says she didn’t really mean it but I can’t help but still feel guilty.” Catra observed Adora’s face. She wouldn’t meet her eyes. Adora always put on such a strong and confident exterior that it was easy for Catra to forget that beneath her heroic mask, the war and their past had hurt Adora just as much as it had hurt her. While her pain had caused her to lash out and create damage to those around her, Catra could see, Adora’s pain had manifested itself on the inside. To what extent the damage was, she wasn’t sure. They were both broken. But, with their friends, and with each other’s help love and support, they had a chance at healing. Catra kissed her forehead and lifted her chin to bring her gaze back to her. She smiled softly and Adora smiled back.

“You can’t control everything around you. You can only control how you respond to the situation in front of you. Adora, you are the most driven, hard working person I know. You did the best you could and Queen Angella made her decision. Please don’t blame yourself for what happened to her. Life is hard, it gets messy. Give yourself some grace.”

“Thank you. I, I really needed to hear that.” Adora squeezed her hand and snuggled in close, thankful to have her Catra back. They always brought out the best in each other.

“Hey, I’ve been working through this stuff with Perfuma and last night talking with Bow really helped to ease some of the anxiety. I promised him that I would help him save Queen Angella.”

“Save Queen Angella?” The notion startled Adora, she was visibly confused at the concept.

“It’s a long story but, today we’re going to make a plan with Entrapta and Hordak.”

Adora was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that Queen Angella might still be alive. You could see Adora beginning to connect the dots in her own head, realization growing on her face. The excitement at the prospect of saving Queen Angella grew in Adora’s heart and so the concern she saw on Catra’s face seemed misplaced.

“There’s a but?” Adora prompted

“Its just that, I’ve been thinking about what happened last time. I don’t want to make the same mistakes, I don’t want to open another portal and lose someone important.” Adora had to stop for a moment and process what Catra had just said. It wasn’t that Adora was surprised by the fact that Catra was capable of thoughtfulness, she just wasn’t expecting it.

“Catra the fact that you’ve been up all night worrying means that you won’t make the same mistake. We’ll come up with a good plan, we’ll figure it out together.” Adora reassured.

“Saving Queen Angella is a noble enough mission but we don’t and we won’t fully understand the consequences of our actions because we’re messing with a portal that may potentially erase our reality. This plan doesn’t just affect us. Our actions will affect everyone on Etheria.”

Adora waited patiently for the point to be made.

“My point is, we need to ask the princesses for their permission.”

Adora was startled for a second time. Catra asking for permission? Catra taking responsibility for her actions and their consequences? Was she still dreaming? She looked Catra up and down slowly, making Catra uncomfortable. She laughed nervously.

“What’s wrong with your face.”

“Honestly, self-improvement looks _so_ attractive on you.” She made to pull Catra closer but Catra held her at arms length, looking her square in the face.

“Be serious, please Adora.”

“I am!” Adora protested as she fought to bridge the gap between them, but her laugh betrayed her.

“Ok but seriously, would you help me? Ask the princesses? I want to do this the right way.”

Adora couldn’t handle much more. It was overwhelmingly attractive. She needed to get to her. “Mmm Hmm. Yep. Absolutely. But first, come here, before…”

“Good morning guys!” Bow shot up, stretching to greet the day.

“ _Ughhhhh._ ” Adora fell back onto the mattress.

“What’s wrong with Adora?” Glimmer asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

“Nothing, nothing.” Catra laughed off. She was going to pay for this later.

Chapter Three: Vote

“I know that this is strange, me calling you here but thank you all for coming. We’ve met before… in the past. But just to officially introduce myself to everyone, I’m Catra.” She gave a small wave. The crowd didn’t return the favour. Not because there was any animosity toward her as a person, but because it was 7:30 in the morning. If they were near a body of water, Catra knew for certain Mermista would have already doused her with it entirely. Everyone sat around the makeshift war table. Frosta, who had been carried into the tent by Spinerella, was making no effort to look awake, her little head resting on the table, snoring lightly. Everyone else stared blankly at either Catra or the table, only Scorpia and Perfuma offered encouraging, albeit sleepy, smiles. After her conversation with Bow last night, Catra couldn’t sleep. At first she was excited by the prospect of saving Queen Angella, of having the opportunity to right her wrongs. But her thoughts kept coming back to the last time she opened a portal, the mistakes that occurred as a result. She wasn’t sure what would happen, but she was certain that finding Queen Angella they would have to recreate what happened before. And if that were the case, then there was a possibility they might not make it back. She had to make sure that everyone understood the risks that they would have to take. 

She looked toward Bow and Adora who gave her an enthusiastic thumbs up. The three of them had decided not to tell Glimmer about what they were planning on doing before the meeting. She was sitting next to King Micah, just as confused as everyone else. Netossa looked like she wanted desperately to yawn but she held it in, she must have had another competition going with Spinnerella. Catra took a deep breath and continued.

“I’ve made a lot of mistakes in the past, all I regret. None more disastrous than when I opened the portal, being fully aware of the dire consequences to my actions. They lead to Queen Angella sacrificing herself to save our reality. With a lot of your help and forgiveness and patience I’ve been working on fixing all the mistakes I’ve made in the past.” She looked toward Perfuma indicating her gratitude for her help in particular. Perfuma waved her hand softly and a yellow rose emerged tucked behind Catra’s ear.

“Bow and I, we’re in the process of coming up with plan to save Angella.”

She made a point not to look in Glimmers direction but she could see in her peripheral vision, Glimmer sit up in attention, grabbing King Micah’s arm for support.

“The reason I asked you all here this morning is that, before we continue ahead with this mission, it was important for me to ask your permission. I’m not going to sugar coat it, I anticipate that rescuing Angella will be very risky. We are putting our entire reality at risk for to save her and so this is a decision we need to make together. The risks are high but I want to bring her home.” Catra turned toward Glimmer then, locking eyes with her from across the room, “I owe you that much.”

It was a lot to take in. Many stared in awe at Catra, then toward each other trying to process everything they had just heard. There were many very important points that were glossed over. Netossa made to say something before retracting her arm, cupping her chin and thinking deeper about the situation. Catra closed her eyes, bracing for the impact of a negative response. When no one said anything, she dared to take peak at the room around her.

Perfuma had her hands clasped in front of her face, eyes wide and sparkling like she did whenever Catra made breakthroughs in their therapy sessions. 

“I think that it’s amazing that you’re taking the consequences of your actions very seriously and that you care enough about others feelings to ask for their permission. Isn’t it wonderful?”

Perfuma took Scorpia’s claw in her own hand, Scorpia nodded.

“Yeah Wildcat, that’s some real important progress! As for what you’re planning, I think it sounds like a wonderful idea. You get my vote! I mean, if that’s what we are doing here? Are we voting? Because I vote yes.”

Scorpia looked around the table at her fellow princesses, there were cautious nods but no outright denials or acceptances. Everyone looked toward Glimmer who seemed to still be in a state of shock. She shook the confusion from her head and looked up to find everyone looking at her, expectantly.

“Of course everyone is ok with this plan. Is that what you two were whispering about last night?”

She stood from her seat.

“There’s a chance we can save my mom? We have to take it, no matter how small. We have to do everything that we can to get her back. This is amazing news!”

Glimmer looked toward King Micah, grabbing is hand and pulling him to stand beside her. He was still in a state of shock, looking toward Glimmer as if he were in a waking dream.

“We could get her back dad, we could be a family again.” She hugged him close before turning toward Bow and Catra.

“How is that even possible?”

“Well, Queen Angella is an immortal being. When she closed the portal she trapped herself in the void between dimensions. She _could_ still be there, stuck.” Bow explained gently, placing a supportive hand on King Micah’s shoulder and taking Glimmers hand in the other. The look on their faces turned from hope, to anguish and sadness, perhaps at the realization that, if she was still in there, they had left her stuck in the interdimensional void for so long.

“Bow and I haven’t exactly figure out how to access that void to save her and how to close the portal without sacrificing someone else but if everyone was ok with accepting the risks that comes with this mission, our next step was to ask Entrapta and Hordak for their help in devising an actual plan.” Catra finished.

“Wait a second, is everyone forgetting what happened last time? And excuse me but, you’re going to ask Hordak? The man that wreaked havoc along the coastline and decimated my kingdom, for help?”

Mermista stood placing her hands on the table. The vibe in the room turned solemn as they all collectively recounted past events. It seemed as though the room’s opinion was turning,

“Can we really put the lives of all at risk on the small chance that Queen Angella could be saved?” The anger was rising in her voice.

“So what then?” Glimmer’s anger was matching hers, fist set on the table opposite her, “We’re just going to leave my mom stuck in a desolate void eternally?”

“You heard Bow, we’re not even sure if she’s still, you know…” Mermista didn’t have to finish the sentence, averting her gaze.

“Well, running the numbers in my head, if my math is correct, and it always it, there is an 80% chance that Queen Angella is still alive in the void.” Entrapta cut in. She looked toward Mermista, moving closer

“And… he’s working on getting better. Truly. His moral compass has been misaligned in the past, what with being controlled by a universal overlord, but we’re working on re-aligning it. Wrong Hordak is helping him work through all their cult trauma. Please give him a chance, like you gave me a chance. That didn’t turn out to be so bad in the end didn’t it?” Entrapta punctuated her point with a soft smile. At that, Mermista softened, taking her hands from the table and crossing them over her chest.

“Whatever. I guess I’m glad to hear that he’s working on getting better. I’m genuinely happy that you’re all working on improving yourselves. That doesn’t change the fact that the last time we did this, we almost ceased to exist.” Mermista warned cautiously. She looked toward Adora for support. Adora nodded, indicating that she heard and understood where Mermista was coming from. Adora had been deep in thought, running all potential scenarios in her head, trying to find the best case.

“This time will be different. This time we’ll have a plan.” She assured, standing and addressing the room.

“How can you guarantee that we’ll save the queen? How can you guarantee that our reality won’t collapse in on itself?” Netossa added, also trying to calculate the best angle of attack. Glimmer backed away, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

“What is everyone saying, that we shouldn’t even try and save my mom?” Glimmer sat down with her head in her hands. Mermista stepped forward crouching to be at eye level with Glimmer.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for it to sound like I don’t want to save the your mom. If she’s out there I want to get her back just as bad as you do. I’m just making sure that everyone is taking the time to think this through, before we get carried away and distracted, so distracted that we notice too late the consequences and lose everything.”

There was a quiet, it felt a lot similar to when they solved the mystery of the Hoard spy, but at the cost of losing Salenias.

“I don’t want to make the same mistakes.” Glimmer’s shoulders relaxed as she sighed out the tension. She looked up to face Mermista.

“I know that you’re just trying to protect everyone. Thank you for keeping us grounded.”

“This is exactly why we asked everyone, to make sure that we were doing the right thing in the right way. With everyone’s help and input, this time it will be different. Because we have each other. We’ll get her back.” Bow said. He looked around at all the princesses. Everyone nodded determinedly as agreement fell throughout the room. They were going to do it. They would bring her home.

“What did I miss?” Frosta asked, head alert, frost fist ready to punch potential threats, drool crystalizing on the side of her mouth. The ice princess melted away any residual tension in the room as everyone shared in a light chuckle.

“We were just finishing up discussing the basic points of our next mission.” Mermista stated, standing up and offering Glimmer a hand. Entrapta beamed, running out of the tent to grab her portable work station

“Great! Because I already have a few ideas.”

Chapter Four: We have a plan

The sun was rising higher in the sky, burning off the morning dew across the glade.

“As best as I can interpret from the data, the portal that was first opened was unstable because the magical energy of the planet was imbalanced and weak. Therefore, the portal wasn’t able to successfully transport Etheria from the shadow dimension of Despondos back into the Known Universe, instead getting stuck in between the two. The structural integrity of the portal was then compromised causing it to collapse in between the two dimensions. This caused our own reality to collapse in on itself creating an alternate reality.”

Entrapta explained alongside a diagram simulation that she had set up on her portable computer. Catra winced as the simulation exploded. Adora found her hand tucked between her tightly crossed arms and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Catra looked toward her and the smile eased her tension just a little. She was so glad to have her here beside her; she didn’t let go of her hand, moving closer to the computer so that she could intertwine her arms with Adora’s. Catra looked over toward Glimmer whose eyebrows were furrowed, intently focused on the simulation. Catra knew that she was just listening carefully to Entrapta but she couldn’t help but interpret the lack of eye contact between them as avoidance. No. Stop that. Glimmer is an understanding friend. _Don’t let your insecurities build up doubts and worries in your mind that have no grounding in reality._ She could hear Perfuma’s voice in her head. Although they were tough at times, she was thankful for the time Perfuma took to help her through her mess of thoughts. She took a deep breath, like they had practiced at yoga, and continued to listen. 

“…works. We have numerous ways of creating a stable portal. Now that Adora is able to control She-ra again and we have access to the uninhibited power of the balanced magic of Etheria, we should have no trouble opening a stable portal.”

“Hoarde Prime’s ship may still have retained its portal capabilities. Assuming that the tree hasn’t completely encapsulated its core processes. Prime’s technology is much more advanced, opening a portal with his ship may make it more stable than opening a portal with Mara’s” Hordak put in. Wrong Hordak threw up an enthusiastic thumbs up and smile to emphasize the positive points they were making before setting down a platter of assorted breakfast pastries.

“I hope everyone is hungry, I made these fresh this morning.” Adora grabbed 3 croissants. Bow raised his eyebrow smirking.

“What, these are _fresh pastries_ and I’m _starving_.”

“Yes, yes. Many ways to open a portal. We need to ensure that we’re opening the portal to Despondos so as to access the correct interdimensional void. Finding the co-ordinates is easy enough, there should be a record of it in Mara’s ship log. Unfortunately, that’s the easiest part of this equation. The subsequent steps become exponentially harder… but that just makes it more fun!”

Bow held his voice recorder toward Entrapta to make sure that he didn’t miss anything that was being said. Scorpia had her notepad out and was scribbling furiously, Perfuma also had her notepad out though, she was writing notes at a much calmer pace. Mermista looked over her shoulder at what Scorpia was writing down and frowned.

“No, the new mask definitely has more of a Catra’s mask vibe. Also, the shoulder pads are more streamlined.”

“Ooo, you’re drawing She-ra? Lemme see!”

“No, Adora its not done yet!”

“Guys.” Catra refocused the group. 

“The real tricky part is dropping into the void that Queen Angella will be trapped in. You see, portals are designed to transport you from one dimension to another. They’re not designed to stall in between two dimensions. Therefore, even after opening a stable portal, by stalling our destination in the inbetween to rescue the Queen, our stable portal will eventually begin to collapse anyway creating an alternate reality. By my calculations, opening a portal with Prime’s ship will give us approximately 4 hours until the portal collapses in on itself erasing any and all realties connected to it!”

Entrapta was on a roll, the excitement of scientific ‘impossibilities’ building her up.

“And that’s not the worst part! I’m not sure if I‘ll be able to manually close the portal if it starts to collapse. Meaning that we’re stuck in the same situation as before. In order to close the portal, someone needs to stay behind and close it from the outside, leaving them stuck forever in the in between.” 

Silence fell across the glade. Entrapta was getting better at emotions. She noted in previous research that tension in the jaw and around the eyes were good indicators of emotion. Right now, tensions were high in everyone’s jaw and many eyes furrowed at the edges. The averted gazes were another tell to further support Entrapta’s conclusion that her news was not well received. Everyone was tense and anxious. Now was not the time to talk about her excitement. Although the prospects of observing another interdimensional experiment made her happy, she frowned empathizing with her friends concern to show that she understood their worries. Mermista would be proud of her progress. 

Glimmer broke through the silence, her eyes not leaving the floor. “That was before I discovered my magical capabilities. That was before we rescued my Dad, one of them most powerful sorcerers in Etheria. We could figure out a way to conjure a spell that could close the portal with no casualties. Entrapta, would that work? Please tell me that it would work!” Glimmer balled her fists together desperately hoping for a yes. King Micah cupped his chin, putting some thought to Glimmers proposal.

“There are several enchantments that I can think of that could potentially do the trick. They would certainly be more powerful if we performed them together. Baby girl, as long as we’re together, there’s nothing we can’t do.” 

Entrapta mulled it over. She considered herself one of the leading scientists on the amalgamation of science and magic. The premise seemed positive enough, but if she’s learned anything from meddling with magic and science it was that magic was unpredictable and so she couldn’t say for certain. She wasn’t sure if spells could be held between dimensions or if they would lose their integrity at the border like alternate realities tended to do. There were many factors to be considered… but it was the only plausible solution to their problem. She needed to encourage her friends. They needed a positive response. 

“Yes, theoretically that could work.” Entrapta answered. Wrong Hordak winked toward the group in approval. 

Entrapta could see the group physically relax. Two for two with this mornings emotional observations. She would have to remember to record her results later. Adora’s shoulders softened, her grip on Catra’s arm loosened but did not let go signifying relief. Catra’s grip on the other hand tightened ever so slightly. Was that determination? Perhaps it was conviction. Bow and Glimmer shared a soft smile and lightly squeezed each other’s shoulders. Hope. That’s what hope looked like.

“Once you close the portal, we should return to the Universal dimension. So, we don’t need to worry about trapping ourselves back in Despondos.” Entrapta finished. This plan was starting to really come together.

“So, now that we’ve got an in, what’s the best plan of attack?” Glimmer asked, looking toward Catra and Adora, whose arms are still intertwined, their free hands cupping their chins as they were deep in thought. For former enemies, Entrapta noted that Adora and Catra were often engaging in physical closeness and affection only associated with romantically involved individuals.

“Are you two dating?” Entrapta asked quizzically.

“What??” Catra had gone bright red, her tail stiffened and Melog took a defensive stance.

“Because according to the data that I’ve collected over the past 24 hours –“ Entrapta began to pull up a schematic but Catra quickly closed the file.

Adora laughed shyly, also developing a blush of her own. Bow and Glimmer on the other hand were laughing more wholeheartedly, the rest of the princesses giving each other sideways glances of knowing.

“Yeah guys, are you dating now??” Glimmer teased, wiping a single tear from her eyes

“I think its best if we focus on the mission at hand.” Catra snapped, but without the usual angry undertones that used to underly her commands back in the Fright Zone. This snap carried more of an embarrassed under tone. No one had answered her question but they didn’t need to. These interactions had proved to Entrapta that Adora and Catra were dating, perhaps even married, if you compared their mannerisms towards each other against Spineralla’s and Netossa’s. The data never lies.

“Entrapta says we have 4 hours until the portal closes.” Adora states gruffly, bringing the group back to focus.

“When the portal opened last time, we woke in an alternate reality. We didn’t remember our lives from before, not at first. We can’t say for sure what will happen when we drop into the interdimensional void.” Catra added pointing to the diagram on the monitor. “Adora, you’re the only person who, from the beginning, noticed the differences.”

“Yeah that’s true. I think I remembered quickly because I was the source of the portal. But being the source of the portal also meant that reality crumbled faster around me. Maybe it might be better if this time it wasn’t centred around me.” Adora added. “Does that affect how long we have in there?”

Entrapta ran the numbers before presenting them with their new timeline.

“The collapse is modelled on an exponential curve determined by your position.”

“In other words?”

“The longer you stay in one place, the faster the reality will crumble, if you keep moving you’ll have more time. Adora, if you were to open the portal, you would only have 2 guaranteed hours in the void.” The group paused to absorb this information.

“There’s no way of telling when or where this reality will take place. But we can at least guarantee who will be there. Opening the portal in presence of those who are crucial to this mission will ensure their presence in the alternate reality.” Bow chimed in as he pulled handmade figurines from his satchel.

“Glimmer, you and King Micah should be there, so that when we have found Queen Angella we can safely close the portal without losing anyone else.” Bow stated as he placed Glimmer and King Micah’s action figurines in front of the portal monitor.

“I need to be there too, to open the portal.” Adora added before placing her own figurine next to Glimmer and King Micah’s. “I know that we can create a more stable portal with Prime’s advanced technology but the advantage of me recovering my memory faster outweighs the negatives of the reality collapsing around my presence.” Everyone looked toward Entrapta, who, shared a look with Hordak. After running the numbers in her head, she simply nodded her approval.

A look of determination settled into Catra’s eyes. “Then its settled, Glimmer –“

“Wait! One more thing…” Adora cut in. She turned to Catra, grabbing her hand softly. “I need you.”

Catra was wide eyed, blushing for the second time this morning. An audible aww escaped Bow’s mouth. Glimmer bought her hands to her mouth, quieting her gasp. Scorpia’s eyes were so wide that Catra could practically hear them sparkling.

“You’re my anchor. However crazy, convoluted or scary things may get in there, I can get through it, all of it, as long as I have you. You’re the reality that I will always fight for.” Adora pulled her in close, resting her forehead on Catra’s, wrapping her arms around her neck.

Bow melted into a pool of mush, and Glimmer was biting back sparkling tears. Perfuma on the other hand, wasn’t even trying not to cry, sobbing through her huge grin.

Yes, Entrapta thought. These two are definitely married.

“If you get a plus one, then I get a plus one.” Glimmer stated before grabbing Bow’s hand and shooting him another hopeful gaze. They didn’t need to exchange words. One look from Bow and Glimmer knew. He would follow her to the ends of the known universe and back. Whatever the mission, they would do it together.

“Best Friend Squad is back in action.”

Chapter Five: Let’s do this

The simulation played as a hologram on Mara’s ship, the co-ordinates set in the ship’s dashboard.

“So everyone knows what they’re doing?” Bow asked one final time as he double checked the projections on Entrapta’s monitor.

“I mean, there’s no telling what we’ll find on the other side, but, essentially, step one: find the Queen, step two: close the portal with magic. When you break it down, it’s pretty simple.” Adora summarized standing next to Bow in front of the monitor. They shared encouraging smiles before turning to face the group that had collected around them. Entrapta lifted her helmet to address them. 

“As soon as I open this portal you won’t have any recollection of this reality. You have 2 hours to find the Queen bring her back and close the portal. Understood?”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

“Of course, you’ll have no recollection of this conversation so it wouldn’t really matter if you understood me or not.” Entrapta began to ramble about her excitement about the data she would collect on this mission.

King Micah paced back and forth; he had been restless ever since their meeting this morning. Glimmer grabbed her father’s arm and upon seeing her, he relaxed slightly. He stopped pacing to turn and face her, holding both her hands in his.

“You’re nervous? I’m a little nervous too but I’m sure the incantation will work.” Glimmer reassured, offering him a loving smile. He returned her gesture, but worry set in again. King Micah voiced his doubts.

“I haven’t seen your mother in a long time. In the last battle that we fought together, I was reckless. Against her better judgement I charged into the heat of the battle, getting myself captured leaving her alone to raise you and rule a kingdom, head a rebellion. I’ve always replayed that day in my mind the things that I would have done differently. I guess I’ve been carrying around a lot of regret. A lot of shame.” Glimmer squeezed her father’s hand, unsure of how to comfort him. Since the end of the war they hadn’t had much time to reconnect, she wasn’t sure how to be around him yet. She loved her father but, as much as she didn’t want to admit it, he was a stranger to her.

“I’ve dreamed of this moment for so long, for the day that I would get to see her again, to make my way back to you guys. It’s what kept me alive on beast island. Then I learned that she was gone. I should have been there to protect her but I wasn’t.” He looked directly into Glimmers eyes and she could see the pain that he held in his heart. She hugged him fiercely.

“I lost her once, and then again a second time. But now there’s a chance that we can save her? Nothing will stop me from performing that spell perfectly but, what if she isn’t there? I don’t think my heart can handle losing her a third time. I’m afraid baby girl.” He softened, giving into his worries, relaxing into Glimmers hug.

“Don’t worry dad, she will be in there. She has to be. I know it, I can’t explain it exactly but I can feel her presence. We’ll get her back! And then, maybe once this is all over, we can have a midnight cake session in the kitchen?” Glimmer looked up to King Micah who smiled, recollecting old memories. 

“She did those with you too?”

“Yeah, there were nights where I would find her in the war room past midnight reviewing battle strategies. I would take her into the kitchen and we would do our best to make cakes like how the cooks made them _._ ”

Glimmer laughed reminiscing in her sweet memories.

“There was flour everywhere, the cooks got a real scare when they would come into the kitchen the next day. In the middle of the night, when the world was sleeping, there was no war, no responsibility. It was just me and mom. We weren’t the best cooks but however bad the cakes tasted; she would always say…”

“At least they’re not as bad as your fathers.” King Micah finished. Glimmer smiled.

“We’ll do that again. I promise.” Glimmer saw the anxiety leave her father’s face, replaced with hope and excitement for the future. Micah looked up in Catra’s direction and she quickly averted her gaze, embarrassed that she had been caught staring at their intimate moment. Glimmer and King Micah shared a knowing look before Glimmer made her way to Catra. 

“Hey.” Glimmer approached cautiously.

“Hey.” Catra returned.

“I just, I just wanted to let you know, that regardless of what happened in the past, whatever animosity I held toward you, it means infinitely much more to me that you came up with this plan, that you’re here with me, helping to save my mom. Bow told me about what you talked about last night. I’ve long since forgiven you for what you’ve done in the past. You sacrificed yourself to save my life! And now you’re walking into the unknown with me. Whatever happens today, I want you to know that you are my friend, I care about you and thank you for doing this for me.”

Catra breathed a sigh of relief. It looked as though a thousand pounds of weight had been lifted off her chest. She hugged her tightly.

“Thank you. For helping me. For giving me the push I needed when we were on Prime’s ship to do the right thing. Without you I don’t know where I would have ended up.”

Glimmer laughed. “That’s what best friends do. They have each other’s backs.”

Bow and Adora stood just off to the side, holding each other, eyes sparkling from the sweet moment.

“She’s right.” Bow agreed, “As long as we’ve got each other’s backs, we can do anything.” He said bringing them all into a best friend squad hug.

“You all ready for this?”

“Lets do it.” Adora concluded.

They each hovered a hand over the central control pad, Adora, Catra, Glimmer, Bow and King Micah.

“Together.”

Entrapta pulled the lever and the world turned white

Chapter Six: Sweet Dreams

“ _Adora…_ Adora! Wake up! We have to get ready.”

Groggily Adora opened her eyes, her vision focused on a stranger’s face looming over her.

“Wha… who?” Adora brought her hand up to her face to shield from the bright light. Her gaze focused on the young man sitting on the edge of her bed. He looked to be the same age as her.

“What do you mean who. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten your older brother’s beautiful face.” He chuckled, framing his face with his hands and flashing a wolfish grin. The resemblance was uncanny.

“We have the same face.” Adora replied, more as an observation than a retort.

“Yeah, but I wear it better.”

“Older brother?” Adora’s mind was a puzzle and none of the pieces were fitting together. She was desperately trying to make sense of what was going on around her.

“Are you alright there poof head? I’m older by 23 glorious minutes and don’t you ever forget it.” Adora’s stomach grumbled and she sat up in bed, clutching her stomach. The fog was trying to clear. The name Adam resonated in her consciousness like a distant memory. She played along.

“Yeah I doubt you ever will let me forget it. What about breakfast?”

“Breakfast? You gave up your breakfast privileges when you decided to sleep until noon. Dad wanted to wake you, but mom let you sleep in because I kicked your butt pretty hard in training last night. She made the best pancakes this morning you really missed out.”

“Mom? Dad?” Adora’s mind was not co-operating with her. This felt wrong, nothing made sense. For whatever reason the concept of parents was so foreign to her.

“Yeah you know, they’re both about yey tall, we have his nose, her eyes. They brought us into this world? Not ringing any bells?”

The confusion on Adora’s face shifted Adams' mood from playful to concerned.

“What’s wrong with you this morning. Seriously, are you ok?” He moved closer, placing the back of his hand on her forehead carefully, bringing his face closer to search hers for any trace of hurt. They really did have the same face. “Hmmm, maybe we should throw you in a healing chamber just to make –“

“No no, its ok I’m fine. Just a little hazy. Too much sleep, probably.”

“Ok phew.” He relaxed a little, shooting her a lopsided grin. “Dad would kill me if anything happened to his pride and joy.” He chuckled offering a hand to help her up out of bed.

“Ha. Ha. Shut it mama’s boy.”

“Speaking of mum, wait till you see what she wants us to wear today.” He ran out of the room to grab their clothes.

Memories flooded back in her mind. Adam _was_ his name. He was her twin brother. They were being groomed to eventually take over as co-heads of the Council of Elders, a title that was currently held by their grandfather. They each held a special ability that allowed them to connect to magical energies, a rare skill specific to their bloodline that dated back to Ancient Eternia when magic was present on their own home planet. Only a special few in their bloodline were able to do what they could. It had been generations since anyone in their family had been born with these abilities, so when their talents were discovered, their parents were overjoyed. Their grandfather took them under their wing immediately, training them since they were old enough to start school at the Royal Academy. They shared everything, including the love of winning. Everything was a competition.

Fond memories stirred from her mind. When they were five, after a heavy day of running races and climbing competitions their parents begged them to go to sleep. Adam bet he could fall asleep faster than Adora, to which she argued that she could do it way faster. She got into bed and squeezed her eyes shut; Adam answered her efforts by smacking his head so hard on the dresser between their beds that he passed out immediately. When they finally got him conscious hours later, he smirked, looking at Adora ‘told you i’d be faster. I win.’ If you run your fingers along his hair line you can still feel a little dip in his skull above his left eyebrow.

Visions of training on the castle grounds, sword fighting. They had an ongoing tally on who beat who during their sparring matches, last night’s loss put Adam ahead in the points game but not for long.

When she was younger Adora didn’t really fit in, Adam was always more popular with the other kids in school. Some of the girls would pick on her, not let her join in their games, calling her weird because she was so much younger than them (they had advanced in the educational system because they were ‘special’). Even though he had plenty of friends, Adam would always find her and sit with her. ‘I will always have your back.’ For a moment, Adam’s image phased and someone else stood in his place. A dark boy with a bow on his back. _Adora._ She reached for the memory but it escaped her. She willed herself to think harder. Something’s not right. 

Adora blinked and, in her memories, it was Adam again. She smiled, thankful for her big brother. Eventually, Adora made lots of friends. Regardless of what happened between the two of them, regardless of how much they teased each other and beat each other up, they always have each other’s back. 

She had the perfect life. But… the memories are glossy, they seem artificial, on the precipice of, but lacking a grounding in, reality. There’s a part of her mind that begs for her to accept this reality as truth. The love she feels from her family. That is real, she’s sure of it. But something in the back of her mind, an ominous warning she can’t ignore, sets her on edge. In all of her ‘memories’ she has felt no pain and yet, why does she know the feeling of pain and loss so intimately. At the thought of loss, she sees a woman, tall and elegant, looking off into the distance. Are those, wings? She turns to look back at Adora and whispers _find me._ Adora blinks again but she’s gone. She rubs her eyes.

She’s somewhere new, running in a field with Adam, chasing him through the spring daisies. Their parents stand on the porch of their home in the distance, holding each other as they laugh when Adora tackles Adam to the ground. They call out to them to come back, dinner’s ready and waiting for them on the table. Love and stability. This is all she’s ever wanted. To be enveloped in this warmth. To know without a shadow of a doubt where she belongs. She pushes down the unease in the back of her mind. This is where she belongs, with her family. Her heart is whole. She does her hair up.

“Where are they?” Adora asked when Adam re-entered the room holding a bag in each hand.

“Hm? Oh they went for their morning walk to scout the local flora earlier, you know how dad gets around space plants.” Adam rolled his eyes dramatically. Adora laughed sharing a hazy recollection that sprang to the forefront of her mind. 

“Oh man remember when he found the orchids on Krytis. I thought he might faint on the spot.”

Adam laughed at the memory. “Mum was so mad that he filled the ship with flowers. She was cleaning pollen off our clothes for weeks. I thought I might have sneezed my brains out.”

“Oh, you have to worry about that, there were never any brains in that head of yours to begin with, so you would’ve been fine.”

“Come here you little shit.” Adam murmured, dropping the bags on the floor he lurched toward her, trying to grab her in a headlock for the world’s biggest noogie.

“No fair, I just woke up!” Adora laughed, dodging his attacks.

“Prince Adam, Princess Adora…”

Frozen on the spot, Adam had Adora in a headlock, slowly they made eye contact before Adora took this opportune moment to judo flip him over her shoulder on his back. She poked her tongue out, placing a foot on his chest. Adam accepted defeat, staying on the floor. They both looked toward Duncan, standing in the doorway. Captain of the House Guard and a well respected retired general, Duncan stood to attention, not a hair out of place. His uniform was perpetually clean and perfectly pressed. He had the same exasperated look that he always had on his face, the look that said, why me? He raised his eyebrow toward them but didn’t ask. He had learned long ago not to question their actions, lest he be roped into more of their shenanigans to judge who did it better. Adora and Adam had long since adopted Duncan as their unofficial Uncle. 

“The main party will be making its way to Plumeria shortly for the welcome ceremony.”

At the mention of Plumeria, Adora tensed. In her mind she saw a tree, with a brilliant green gem embedded in its great trunk. She knows that place, she’s been there before. But that was impossible because they had just arrived here last night after a long voyage from New Eternia. They were sent here by the council of elders to welcome the planet into their Empire. Grandfather said that it was very special, that’s why they were sent specifically to get in Etheria’s good graces. There are abilities they have yet to unlock and grandfather had sent them on this welcoming party in hopes that Etheria’s powerful magic would help them to release their full potential. She can’t know that place.

“Yeah we were just getting ready to head out weren’t we?” Adam shot Adora a look that shook her out of her thoughts. She picked up where he left off flawlessly.

“Yeah, we were just running one last practice drill. Adam was having trouble with one of the moves and asked me for advice.” Adora shot him a smug look, offered a hand and pulled Adam up to his feet. “We’ll be out in 10 minutes, promise.”

Duncan wasn’t a man of many words. The annoyance on Adams' face warranted one last eyebrow raise and a disgruntled shake of the head before he turned and made his way back to the bridge, grunting. Adora and Adam were experts in Duncan grunts, that one in particular meant, _you’d better be, because if you’re not, I’ll make sure that your parents know you were the reason our party arrived late_ . _Your mother hates it when you’re late._

After Duncan left, against her better judgement Adora’s mind tried to revisit the flashes that happened in her head. _Something wasn’t right_. Adam gave her a sideways look, that classic smug grin spreading across his face. “I’ll be ready in 8 minutes. AND I’ll be looking so much better than you.”

Adora snapped back into the moment.

“You wish.”

Chapter Seven: Bright Lights

The visiting party was much larger than Adora had expected. She stepped off the ship faced with a mass of 30 escorts ranging from support scientists to house guards. As well as the human escorts, security bots milled around the ships completing routine surveillance checks. Duncan stood at the head of the party next to Teela, his daughter and one of New Eternia’s leading scientists. Adora felt Adam writhe next to her, adjusting his collar, fixing his sleeves and smoothing down his hair. Adora laughed at his nervousness. 

“She is way out of your league lover boy.”

“I don’t like her!” Adam denied. 

“I can pretty much hear your thoughts Adam, there’s nothing you can hide from me.” Adora teased, ruffling his nicely made hair. Panicked, he quickly re-adjusted his do.

“Hi Teela! How are you today?” Adora greeted cheerfully as they approached them. “I really like the outfit you have on, it looks beautiful on you. Doesn’t Teela look beautiful Adam?” Adora shot him a smug grin. Adam smiled back, but his eyes held a message for Adora.

_Quit it. Or you’re getting hit later_

_Oh but it's just so much fun watching my cool collected brother flop around like a fish out of water. Can’t I have just a little bit of fun?_

_Please stop._

_Ok, but only because you said please._

“Adora, you're too kind. Good afternoon Adam.” Teela shot him a smile that made him blush as pink as the accents on their formal attire. Adora and Adam were always made to wear clothes that made them look like a match set. They weren’t too fond of the stereotypical matchy matchy twin clothes but it made their mom happy so they grinned and bore it.

“Where are mom and dad?” Adora asked, scanning the crowd. 

“Oh they’re already there, you know how your dad gets around plants.” Duncan rolled his eyes. He did a quick assessment of the group gathering around them. 

“Looks like we have everyone here. It’s a bit of a journey through these woods to get to Plumeria. We should head out.”

Adora blinked and all of a sudden, she was sitting at a table with an incredible spread of food. She had cake in one hand and a flower tucked behind her ear. What just happened? How did she get here? She looked to her left to find Adam sitting next to her, giving her a quizzical look.

“Uh Adora?”

“Yeah?”

“Princess Perfuma has just asked if you wanted to join her drum circle tomorrow morning?”

Adam looked up in the direction of the princess, Adora followed his gaze to find a beautiful woman, whose head was adorned with flowers, smiling back at her expectantly. In her head, flashes of memories that weren’t her own but felt so real invaded her mind. Images of fighting alongside this woman, planning strategies, of plant golems. She heard her voice echoing in her head, _“She-ra DROP IT.”_ Instinctively, Adora dropped the cake she was holding.

“Yes of course.” Adora responded.

“Amazing! Did you hear that Princess Scorpia? Princess Adora will be joining us for our drum circle tomorrow!”

“Yes I did honey, that’s great news!” Adora faced the tall powerful woman sitting next to Perfuma.

 _Scorpia…_ in her mind she saw flashes of red current, of fighting her and then fighting alongside her. In her foreign memories, Scorpia stood beside someone else, but Adora couldn’t make out any details other than a rough outline of their silhouette. Their body was illuminated by a blinding light that made the figure hard to look at, like staring into the sun. Adora knew instantly that this person was important. She had to get to them. In her mind she heard a single _hey Adora…_

Adora jolted upright, causing a scene. Adam grabbed her arm gently. Perfuma frowned, taking a long hard look at Adora.

“I need to get some air.” Without waiting for a dismissal she turned and walked toward the empty glade behind them.

“Apologies for my sister, the long voyage must not be agreeing with her.” Adam dismissed himself gracefully before following her.

“Adora what’s going on with you? I’m starting to get seriously worried. You’ve been acting strangely all day.”

“Something’s not right, can’t you feel it. It’s almost as if I don’t belong here.” Adora hugged herself, looking left and right as the unease of the situation began to set in. Adam faltered, watching his sister panic. He too felt something nagging at the back of his mind. A throbbing at the back of his head? He shook away the doubts.

“What are you talking about? Of course you do! Everything… everything is as it should be.” He said, just as much for himself as for Adora. He put a hand on her shoulder to calm her but she wouldn’t meet his eyes.

“Adora?”

Perfuma stood at the edge of the glade. They made eye contact, fear and confusion played on both their faces. A silent understanding.

“You sense it too.” Adora pushed past Adam and made her way toward Perfuma.

“I… I’ve met you before. I… I know you.” Perfuma stepped forward hesitantly.

“This, this can’t be. This is the first time we’ve visited this planet. We’ve never met you before. Adora you’re scaring me.” Adam rationalized, flipping between the two of them.

“Can we please just get through today, we have our important meeting with the King and Queen of Brightmoon, we can sort this out, whatever this is, later.”

 _Brightmoon._ Perfuma made to step closer but Adora’s surroundings shifted.

Chapter Eight: Beautiful Nightmare

Adora was surrounded by high ceilings, hues of pinks and purples, and gold and white. She stood toward the back of an elaborate hall surrounded by royal guards. At the head of the room two magnificent thrones floated in mid-air. A friendly looking man and a tall elegant woman sat upon them. With their backs facing Adora, kneeling in respect in front of the throne were her parents, Duncan and Teela. Next to her Adam, who was normally so calm and collected, stared at her in fear and confusion.

“What the hell is going on.” He whispered, “Where are we? Weren’t we just in the glade?”

Adora was trying to figure that out for herself. Looking up at the ceiling she started to see cracks in the foundation of this reality. Staring deeply into those cracks, the memories that she’d obtained through the day started to resurface, as well as new ones. Actual memories. This castle felt like home to her. She knows it intimately, as intimately as the castle back in New Eternia. But as Adora tries to remember her home on New Eternia, it fades in her mind, its hallways being replaced by Brightmoon’s. Brightmoon is her home. New Eternia doesn’t exist. She can see herself running through these hallways, alongside two familiar figures. It’s that boy again from her vision earlier today and a girl, short and stout. As much as she had been holding onto this dream, she knows now. She doesn’t belong here. Something’s wrong. She needs to find the truth. In the corner of her eye she sees two figures enter the room. It's them. _Glimmer, Bow_. Her reality starts to come back. Bits and pieces, enough to solidify her suspicions. This isn’t real, no matter how badly she wants it to be, it isn’t. She has to tell Adam.

“This isn’t real Adam. Whatever is happening right now, it isn’t the reality that we live in.” 

The fear in Adam’s eyes startled her. He shook his head in disbelief. “But mom and dad?”

It hurt Adora’s heart to face the truth, that the family she had yearned for all these years and finally had in this moment, were not real. Tears formed at the corner of her eyes as she spoke her fears out loud. “Think about it Adam, have you ever actually seen their faces, have they talked to us this entire time?”

“What are you talking about of course they have, they’re right there!” They looked up toward the thrones but their parents were nowhere to be seen, only Duncan and Teela stood there, conversing with the monarchs as if their parents had never even been there in the first place. Confused, Adam tried to remember what they looked like but their faces were a blur, grey and fading.

She held his hands “Things aren’t right. I’m sorry.” Adora had tears in her eyes, she had to force herself to say it.

“You aren’t real.” She barely managed to get those words out. “There’s something that I need to do.” She ran toward Glimmer and Bow without looking back.

“Glimmer Bow! I’m so glad I found you, what’s going on?! Why are we here?”

They gave her quizzical looks before finding their composure. 

“I don’t think we’ve officially met,” Bow chimed in, always the example of polite manners, he extended his hand in greeting but Adora swatted it aside.

“Yes we have,” Adora urged, grabbing them both by a shoulder, “We’re best friends. Come on I know you guys remember.” 

“Adora.” Adam approached tentatively. Adora winced, blinking back new tears that threatened to fall. 

“Adam, please don’t make this any harder than it has to be.” Adora said pushing him away gently before turning back to her best friends.

“Come on guys, we have to do something. We’re in this alternate reality for a reason. I can’t remember exactly what we have to do but you can help me.” Glimmer stared into her eyes, Bow did too. The same hard look that she received from Perfuma earlier, a look of confusion, slowly morphing into understanding. They were getting there, she could tell, but not fast enough. The urgency that Adora felt in her stomach was growing larger. Something needed to be done and it needed to be done soon otherwise something really bad was going to happen. As Bow and Glimmer shared silent glances, their creased eyebrows melted with realization. Slowly they turned toward Adora. As hard as she pressed her mind for details, all she could get was fragments, never a whole picture. She knew that Bow and Glimmer were her friends. She had never grown up with a loving family, she had never felt the warmth that she had felt in her fantasy childhood, her real childhood had been consumed by darkness, but in that darkness was a light. The figure next to Scorpia. She had known love, an intense and undying love…

From the main entrance door, one of the guards chimed, “Announcing the visiting Squadron from Purrsia.”

Adora faced the entrance doors and there she was. Hair slicked back; it was long again. In this reality she had never faced the horrors of Hoard Prime. Her pants, perpetually torn. She was wearing her usual maroon red and dark grey attire. She was surrounded by many others like her, smiling that stupid smile that Adora adored. She was happy and at peace. Basking in the sunlight, she looked divine and Adora’s heart soared. Adora used all her strength to resist the urge to run toward her. It was her. She was her sun. Her light burned away all the fog shrouding her mind. The memories came in hot and heavy then; nights in the fright zone, staying up late talking about everything and nothing. The pain of losing her multiple times, of wanting so desperately to let her go but not being able to no matter how hard she tried. The nights she would lie awake because the cold of her absence kept her up. The terror of losing her to a fate worse than death. The overwhelming joy of finding her again, of holding her in her arms and knowing that she was safe with her. The nerves of learning to be around each other again dissipating as they fell into their perfect rhythm. The comfort of knowing that she loved her back, that she was hers. That no matter what happened, they had each other. Catra. God, she loved her so much.

“…best… friend squad.”

“What?” Glimmer looked toward Bow.

“Best Friend Squad.” He repeated with more conviction. 

In that moment, it came back to them all immediately. They were on a mission to save the queen from this interdimensional void they were stuck in. How long had it been? They were running out of time. The cracks began to grow larger. The three of them looked toward the throne, without a word they knew what needed to be done. They were about to break apart but Adam grabbed her hand.

“Adora. I… I remember now. Kind of.” There were tears falling from his eyes. Adora was shocked. She could see that he wanted to hug her but he held back, understanding her confusion.

“Adora I can’t believe that I’ve found you, after all these years. They said you were dead. To find out that you’re alive, that you have friends.” He nodded toward Bow and Glimmer, who were standing there gobsmacked.

“As long as I can remember I’ve been searching for you. I never gave up. I knew you were out there. When we woke up on that ship, I guess I kind of had a feeling that things weren’t right but, to be in a reality where you were never taken from us, where our parents were still around? I guess I had hoped that that pain was a dream and that this was the reality.” Adora looked at him, shocked. Seconds passed before she could collect her thoughts.

“You’re alive… you’re a real person?”

“I’m pretty sure I am.” He laughed. Without hesitation, Adora grabbed his hand firmly.

“Come with us. We’re going to save Angella from this void and you're coming with us! I’ve always wanted to know where I came from, to know if I have a family, I’ve wondered if they missed me. To have this alternate reality where, for a moment, I had those questions answered, was special. To know that I have a brother is mind blowing in the best possible way. Please, come with us. We can be a family again.”

“Okay.” Adam nodded. Adora hugged him then. 

“I love this!” Glimmer agreed “Now let’s go save my mom!” As if a switch had been flipped, Adora shifted moods, refocusing on the mission at hand. 

“You three, go get the queen, I need to wake up Catra.” Adora strategized, turning to make her way to the group of Purrsians near the entrance.

“Ok, but don’t mess around too much.” Bow teased, giving Glimmer a knowing smirk. They both laughed at her embarrassment as Adora blushed pretty hard. Adam looked quizzically between the three of them. “Uh, Adora?”

“Long story, I’ll explain later. Go go go”

Glimmer grabbed both Bow and Adam by the arm.

“Wait a second wha-“ Adam got in before they poofed off toward Angella. The retching noise Adam made that Adora heard coming from toward the throne confirmed their location. She made her way to Catra.

“Catra?” she asked inquisitively?

“Yes? She turned to face her, no recognition of who Adora was on her face. The sight stumped Adora. Backlit by the sunlight streaming into the throne room Catra looked angelic. She forgot how good Catra looked with long hair. Without hesitating, she grabbed her face and kissed her deeply. At first, Catra pushed back, confused. After a few seconds, she relaxed, sinking into the kiss and reciprocating, wrapping her arms around her neck. They indulged for a few glorious seconds before Adora heard Bow’s taunting in her mind and she pulled away slowly, blushing.

“Hey Adora.”

They smiled, pressing their foreheads together.

“Big gamble you just played, I could have scratched up your face.” Catra purred, Adora laughed.

“You would never. Hurry we’re running out of time.” Adora grabbed her hand, together they made their way to the thrones.

“Mom?” Glimmer approached the throne, walking past the Eternian guests at the foot of the stairs, holding Bow’s hand. That did not escape Angella’s notice.

“Glimmer what are you doing here?” Angella made her way to the foot of the thrones, King Micah followed. Tentatively Glimmer reached out to hold Angella’s hand. Although the Queen was confused she did not pull away. King Micah looked on at the situation, puzzled. Glimmer’s heart skipped a beat. This isn’t a projection or a memory. She was real. This was her mom. She gripped her hand tighter.

“Mom I need you to listen carefully. This reality isn’t real. We aren’t in Brightmoon.” She stared intently into her mom’s eyes.

“What are you talking about of course we are sweetie. Now, please go back to your room, your father and I are entertaining esteemed guests.” She looked toward Duncan and Teela at the foot of the stairs but they had disappeared. The confidence left her face. Queen Angella looked toward King Micah who was now looking at Angella with the same desperation as Glimmer. His memory had returned. 

“What did you do yesterday mom? What are we going to do tomorrow? Look closely at the castle.” The cracks in reality were getting bigger now, big enough that they couldn’t be ignored.

“This isn’t real.” Angella’s gaze began to grow distant, her eyes greying in despair. “How cruel, this one felt so real. And yet it was just another illusion to distract me from this eternal prison.” She thought out loud, her hand going limp in Glimmer’s. She fell to the floor and sobbed uncontrollably. Glimmer was in tears, Bow and Adam had their backs toward the scene, keeping a wary eye on the advancing Eternian and Brightmoon guards as well as the cracks appearing in the columns that held up the throne room. Angella held Glimmer's face in her hand, she looked sadly toward her husband. “A beautiful nightmare. Both of you, you aren’t real.”

Micah frowned. “Angie.” He fell to the floor and held her. “Angie I am real. We’re here to rescue you dearest.”

“Please, stop this madness.” Angella pleaded. “My heart can’t take much more of this ache.” Glimmer's heart broke at the sight of her mother, so strong and hopeful, the pillar that had held her up all those years, sitting broken and defeated. She needed to give her mother something to fight for.

“Mom, look at me. Really look at me.” Angella lifted her head, her eyes full of despair. “Your sacrifice wasn’t in vain. Thanks to you, we defeated the Hoard, not just on Etheria but throughout the universe. We found Dad, he’s alive. With the help of all the Princesses we devised a plan to save you. We’re here to take you home, please come with us. You raised me to never give up, and I’m not giving up on you.”

King Micah and Glimmer lifted her to her feet. The thin veil of reality was lifting revealing Angella’s true form. She was weak and frail, barely able to hold her own weight on her legs. Adora and Catra ran toward them, evading the guards who were looking increasingly hostile.

“Who is he? And why does he look exactly like you?” Catra asked, intrigued.

“I’m Adam. Adora, who is your beautiful friend?” He flashed his smokiest grin extending a hand.

“We don’t have time for this,” Adora cut in a little jealously. Adam kept grinning like a weirdo, Catra just looked confused.

“We need to get back to Mara’s ship in the glade, we’re running out of time.” Bow stated. The squad nodded in agreement

“Judging by the looks of those cracks and the angry looks that we’re getting from this crowd, we need to get out of here stat!” Adam concluded. Everyone bar Adam looked toward Glimmer expectantly.

“I don’t have enough power to jump everyone back to the glade.” Glimmer returned. The guards began to advance getting ready to attack the group at the base of the thrones. Bow drew his bow, arrow knocked ready to fire if things got heated. Queen Angella mustered up all the energy she could. You could see in her face that she still did not trust the reality of the situation but she stood as tall as she dared. “Real or not, we are a family and I will never give up on my family.”

She took Micah’s hand in hers and an unspoken understanding passed between them. They both outstretched their free hands to Glimmer who folded into their embrace. In their embrace the three of them began to glow immensely bright pink. The group had to shield their eyes from the light emanating from them. Adora also began to glow a soft yellow. Surprisingly Adam took on a very faint soft orange hue. The twins exchanged confused looks. Glimmer turned out. Her hand still holding Angella’s, she grabbed Bow's. Message received, Bow held Adam’s hand. Adam held Adora’s who was holding Catra’s. She grabbed Micah’s hand closing the circle and together they teleported back to the glade.

Chapter Nine: He-Man

As soon as they materialized in the centre of the glade, Angella collapsed. King Micah caught her before she hit the ground. But, their concern over Angella had to wait. They were surrounded by the rest of the Eternian bots that were left to protect the fleet.

“They’ve taken the prince and princess hostage! Attack them!”

“Princess? Prince?” Those titles received confused looks from everyone and a snort from Catra, but before they could get into it, the robots attacked from all angles. The group sprung into action, protecting Queen Angella in the centre. Bow fired arrow after arrow into the crowd, Catra brought the claws out, literally, slashing at any bots that dared to come within her range. Adam dismembered a bot, using its arm as a makeshift sword. He handed the other arm to Adora. Together they fought back to back, perfectly in sync.

“Glimmer, King Micah, find the key and disable it with your magic, we’ll hold off the bots. Bow, go with them and make sure they don’t get hurt.” Adora ordered.

“Please stop!” Adam pleaded toward the army attacking them, but in the chaos of the fighting, reason was lost to the wind.

Glimmer and King Micah stood opposite one another in front of Mara's ship, readying the incantation. The bots moved closer and closer; Bow was running out of arrows but he only needed to hold them off for a few more seconds. He looked toward Adam, Adora and Catra who were being overwhelmed by bots trying to protect the queen who was still passed out in the centre of the glade. She was truly frail, a shell of what she once was.

“I need the sword to transform but it’s holding the portal open.” Adora thought out loud to Catra.

“Transform?” Adam asked, but before he could press further his confusion was replaced by more of his memories returning.

“I’m sure you can use the ones that they have in this reality too.” Catra suggested. They had fought their way to the training ground. Amongst the various weapons, two in particular were mounted properly. Twin blades. Catra grabbed one and threw it toward Adora. She caught it by the hilt in mid-air. _“For the honor of Grayskull.”_

Adam stood awestruck as he watched Adora grow in height. Her hair grew longer and flowing, her clothes changed into heroic armour. Adora radiated power reminding him of the overwhelming surge of strength and warmth he felt in his true reality during training a couple of weeks ago. He realized that the warmth that he felt back then was the same warmth that he was feeling now from this planet and from Adora. Was this the power of magic? Magic was not present in the colonies in New Eternia so he couldn’t say for certain. Was this the final form he had been working all these years to achieve? He pressed deeper into the recesses of his mind piecing his thoughts back together. The meeting of the Council of Elders that he had overheard. He had learned about the secrets of New Eternia, the atrocities they had planned for the universe in the wake of the defeat of the Hoard. He was planning to stop them before, before he was caught and knocked unconscious. He was so lost in his thoughts that he was almost knocked out by an Eternian bot. Catra saved his six.

“Yeah, it’s pretty distracting the first time you see it.” Adam shook the shock off of his face and kept fighting alongside them. How many freakin’ bots did they have? And why weren’t they listening to him? In the midst of all the fighting the group hadn’t realized that the reality around them had disintegrated completely except for the small plateau that they were standing on. Beyond the plateau the true nature of the void was revealed. Endless darkness.

Glimmer and King Micah hovered the fully formed incantation above the sword of protection wedged into the ground beneath the ship and made the final cast but it slipped right through the hilt. Calmly they tried again, only to achieve the same result. A third time proved no luck, the desperation growing on Glimmer’s face was matched by King Micah’s. They looked out toward the battle field, Bow was out of arrows, he turned toward them to check on their progress and was knocked unconscious. Bow’s efforts were valiant but the bots were now advancing in from all angles. Adam, Adora and Catra were forced by their side, Catra carrying the queen. They propped the unconscious members next to the sword in the ground and formed a protective circle around them. With their literal backs against the last shred of reality, they were losing hope to despair. She-ra and Adam were slashing manically with their swords, Glimmer firing blasts into the crowds as was King Micah, Catra made sure that the defenceless were secure, clawing up any stray bot arms.

“Glimmer?” Adora questioned over the madness.

“It didn’t work.” She replied helplessly. “Someone needs to stay and close the portal. Someone’s going to get left behind.” Fresh tears fell down the tracks that the recent tears had stained on her cheeks. She looked as exhausted as Adora felt. But they couldn’t give up. They were so close. There had to be a way.

“Let me do it.” Adora looked down at Adam, he had a determined look on his face but you could see by his slowing movements and the beads of sweat on his forehead, that the battle was taking a toll on him too. King Micah mustered all his strength into a loud battle cry, raising his staff above his head before striking the ground at his feet. From the ground emanated a glowing purple force field, providing the group a moment of relief. As soon as it went up cracks appeared on its surface.

“I’ve bought us some time but this isn’t going to hold up. Whatever our next move is, we have to do it fast.”

The bots banged at the exterior created larger cracks in the shield walls.

“No. Adam, we’ve just found each other! I’m not going to lose you again.” She gripped his shoulder firmly and looked directly into his eyes. Adams shoulders slumped, he placed his hand over Adora’s.

“Adora I’ve spent my whole life searching for you. You don’t know how happy it makes me that you’re alive, that you're safe, healthy, you’ve found family, friends, that you’ve found love. That is all I could have ever asked for. I remember now. I remember everything. You…it was you I saw on the screen. You saved the universe from the Hoard. Now it’s my turn to protect it. I have unfinished business on New Eternia.” This was all so much information, Adora, in her state could not comprehend what she was hearing.

“What? I’m…” Adora stammered helplessly looking for the words to say that would convince him to come with them. But, looking at her brother she knew. They were too similar. She knew there was no talking him out of whatever he was planning to do. Adora’s tear ducts were exhausted, else she would be crying, again.

“Here I want you to have this.” From his shirt pocket he pulled a photo, greying and creased at the edges. “Protect the magic of Etheria, protect the magic in the universe.” He placed the photograph in her hands and closed them around it.

Adora fell to her knees. 

“I’m so proud of you.” There was a fierce pride in his eyes, tears forming in their corners.

“As soon as you pull that sword out of the ground you’ll be stuck here. How will you escape?”

“I have a theory,” He smiled reassuringly, “But if that doesn’t work, the Council, they need me for their plans. Once they discover I’m missing from the medical bay they’ll track me down and get me out. I was never smart enough to understand it all but our science division is quite technologically advanced. They’ll find a way.”

Nobody spoke. Catra came over, placing both hands on Adora’s slumped shoulders. Adam’s eyes met Catra’s and he gave her a nod. Catra solemnly reciprocated. He didn’t know exactly what was going on in Adora’s life, but he had a feeling that as long as this woman was in it, she would be ok.

“Do you mind if I borrow your sword for a while?” Adam asked? Adora looked up to face him. He chuckled looking at the sword in her hand, “You can borrow mine in exchange. Keep it safe.”

Adora looked at the sword she was holding, then at the sword in the ground. Mustering a giggle perhaps out of slight hysteria, she responded, “But how will I get it back? That’s my favourite sword.” Adam laughed and pulled her to her feet.

“Find me,” he challenged, “and then we can stop this madness once and for all. Together.” The protective dome around them had reached its limit, it splintered and shattered.

“I love you Adora, Mom and Dad would be so proud of the woman you’ve become.” Adam stood taller to better face his sister. “You were right Adora, I was having a little trouble with the last move, but you’ve showed me what I need to do.” He gave her a soft wink before turning to the others, “Take care of her.” 

He stepped back out of the perimeter of the circle, attracting the attention of the bots. He extended his hand toward the sword stuck in the ground, straining for that feeling he had felt once before. He began to glow, his face concentrated. He thought of Adora, of his parents. The memories may have been fake but the love he felt for them was real, he felt the magic of the planet coursing into his body, it was warm and energising, And yet he also felt that same energy from deep within him coming forth like a spring, adding to it, amplifying the power he was channelling through his body. This is what he was missing on New Eternia. He let it flow uninhibited, giving into the incredible strength he felt. His eyes flew open.

_“By. The. Power. Of. Greyskull!”_

Adora’s sword dislodged itself from the ground, flying into his hands before he raised it in the air heroically and transformed. The experience was godly. It was as if time had simultaneously slowed and sped up. Adam’s consciousness was floating outside his body, watching as he grew 3 feet taller and gained 20 pounds of pure muscle. His senses were heightened. His body felt stronger. It was incredible. He looked down at his form incredulous. Adora was staring at him, confused about what expression to land on. Pride, shock, amusement? They took turns playing in her eyes.

_I can’t believe that actually worked! I did it! I finally did it!_

_You did it!_

_Holy shit, what the hell am I wearing…_

Before he could get a response he swung to deflect the oncoming bots. The plateau was losing all sense of form and function as the void closed in on itself, Adam now the centre of the collapse. The group huddled close together as their surroundings shook violently.

In the midst of all the chaos, all Adora’s exhausted brain could think was “Is that really what I look like when I transform?” Glimmer nodded solemnly.

“Wait, what just happened? He’s… barely wearing any clothes.” Catra observed

As the void fell around them, Adam looked over his shoulder to make sure that everyone else was safe.

“I’ll find you.” Adora promised.

The world went white.

Chapter Ten: What’s Next?

“That was incredible! It seems as though you shared a connection so primal with another individual that it reached across the universe and placed him in your alternate reality. According to the data collected on my computer, everything else happened pretty much as it did the first time. But it is worth collecting.” Entrapta mumbled to herself from behind the monitor.

Adora sat up from where she lay on the floor of Mara’s ship. She rubbed the back of her head, looked around and did a head count. Queen Angella was here. Six people, exactly the number that they had planned to bring home but one less than what Adora had hoped. Catra propped herself up onto her elbow to face Adora, a sad empathy in her eyes. No words were needed. They held each other.

Across the room Glimmer stirred, opening her eyes slowly before bolting up where she lay. She looked left and right, Bow lay splayed next to her unconscious but breathing steadily. On her other side, her mother lay curled in the fetal position. Her _mother_ . Weak and frail, her breathing was shallow and ragged but she was _breathing_. Her eyes opened ever so slightly and she tilted her head to face Glimmer.

“Glimmer? Is…” She coughed.

“Honey, take it easy.” King Micah said, cradling her in her arms.

“Micah?” Her eyes widened. “Am I… Have I died?”

He chuckled lightly before responding, “You’re home Angie, we’ve brought you home.” King Micah pulled his wife close, touching his forehead to hers, smiling as tears formed in the corners of his eyes. Angella was in disbelief some small part of her still refusing to believe that this was truly real. Glimmer joined in their group hug, holding her parents in her arms. Angella placed her hands on their faces.

“You’re both really here. This isn’t an illusion.” She smiled and closed her eyes, softening into their embrace. They were a family again.

“Rest.” Micah set her down gently. Angella took in her surroundings, her eyes landing on Bow, concern flashed across her face.

“Is, is he going to be ok?” Glimmer shuffled over to him, kneeling beside him to place a hand on his forehead. He hadn’t woken yet or moved since coming back. Gently he opened his mouth… a snore escaping. Glimmer gave him a pointed look. 

“He’ll be fine.”

“Is everyone ok? I made pots of my special tea.” Scorpia entered the ship, Emily in tow with trays of tea precariously balanced on her head. She made her way to the group all splayed out on the floor. Behind Scorpia, the other princesses poked their heads out from behind the open door frame. Glimmer laughed and waved the rest of them in.

“How is she doing?” Mermista asked, kneeling down near them and offering Glimmer a cup of tea. Angella’s eyes were closed, resting, leaning her body against King Micah who had sat upright to better support her. Scorpia held a cup to King Micah so that he could get some liquids. Glimmer held Bow’s hand, he was still in a deep sleep.

“She’s weak and she needs food and rest but she’ll be ok. She’s alive.” Glimmer sighed, relaxing and finally feeling the extent of the exhaustion. The rest of the princesses knelt around them fussing about the group, draping blankets over them, feeding them pastries and organizing pillows to make the ground more comfortable.

“Hey guys, how are you feeling?” Spinnerella approached Catra and Adora with blankets draped over one arm and a cup of tea in another. Catra turned to face her, giving her a concerned look. Adora continued to look at the floor.

“What’s wrong?” Netossa asked, crouching to be at her eye level, Adora looked at Catra, a sadness and confusion in her eyes.

“He saved us… or did he?”

“Who?” Spinerella asked confused “Did someone else end up going with you guys into the portal?”

“My brother.” That caught everyone off guard. Spinerella and Netossa looked to Catra for answers.

“Was he even real?” Adora thought out loud. “That whole experience, it felt real, it _feels real._ Or was that a projection of my desires? This portal stuff is confusing, I don’t trust my own thoughts.” Adora clenched her fists in frustration and felt something crumple in her hand. She opened them to find a photograph, old and fraying at the edges. A happy family. It was her, as a baby. She was being cradled by a handsome young man. The features of his face seemed familiar to Adora; she could see herself in him. She could almost hear the laugh that was being shared in this photo between him and the woman sitting next to him. The woman was beautiful, her eyes a mirror image of Adora’s. In her arms she held a baby boy. Adam. She gave Catra the photo to look at and she gasped in disbelief.

“You’re parents…” A crowd was forming around them as the other princesses circled to see what the commotion was about.

“He was real. Adam’s out there and he needs our help.” 


End file.
